New owners for shelter animals hard to find

Saturday

Aug 9, 2014 at 10:48 PMAug 9, 2014 at 10:52 PM

By Danielle AmedenDaily News Staff

Brutally attacked in Ireland while being used as bait to train fighting dogs, Sammi arrived at Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton last December with puncture wounds and only one eye.The battered greyhound cross, maybe 2 or 3 years old, is now painfully shy and frightened. But shelter director Louise Coleman dreams of finding her a loving home, ideally where there’s another dog, Coleman says, "who can teach her that life isn’t always horrible."Some MetroWest and Milford area animal shelters, now in the midst of a slow period for pet adoptions, say they are having a harder time placing their cats and dogs. And the challenge is especially great in cases of animals such as Sammi that have been in their cages for months – or even years."The traffic has been definitely down from previous years," said Cheryl Townsend, an adoption counselor at the MetroWest Humane Society, a no-kill cat shelter in Ashland."Cat adoptions have been down," she said. "I don’t know why."In Hopkinton, Baypath Humane Society has taken steps to better show off its available cats and dogs – from listing them on the new pet adoption section of e-tailer giant Overstock.com to building trails, parks and pens outside the shelter so the dogs can be out and on their best behavior for prospective adopters.Director Liz Jefferis said Baypath is using tips from seminars on shelter enrichment aimed at improving quality of life and stimulating dogs and cats so they "show better."While summer is a slower time for adoption, she said changes in music, lighting and even feeding – using interactive puzzle feeders to keep dogs engaged – have really helped."We have seen length of stay dramatically, dramatically drop," Jefferis said.Puppies and kittens are always quick to go, but the changes helped Baypath solve the problem of why it took so much longer to place adult dogs and cats, she said."A big part of it was on us to realize why are they here longer and what can we do," she said.Since cats are the most stressed in a shelter, Jefferis said the shelter is trying to place more by letting people take them home – especially shy ones - to foster and then adopt.Bring a timid shelter cat home and "you wouldn’t believe the change in personality," she said.The shelter takes the same tact with dogs that present more of a challenge, she said.Every shelter has animals with hard luck stories, whether it’s Sammi, the abused dog from Ireland, or Checkers, a sociable cat at Baypath who tested positive for feline AIDS and has been passed over by adopters for the past four months.Joy, an older cat with a good temperament and shiny black coat, has been stuck at the Milford Humane Society for 11 years."Some people may overlook her and say, ‘black cat, superstition.’ Unfortunately that’s what happens with a lot of black cats," shelter volunteer Sue Roecker said.Joy was trapped and rescued as a feral back in 2003 and was spooked for a long time. The cat only warmed up to people in recent years but now loves to be petted and fits her name, said Barbara Farrington, who runs the cat shelter."We’re a total no-kill facility so they come, they stay as long as they need to stay and eventually most of them find homes," Farrington said.She said most people go right by the adult cats: "It’s kitten season and they’re looking for that cute cuddly little guy."When it comes to dogs, Shirley Moore, president of Save A Dog in Sudbury, said she finds many people are looking for purebreds with no issues."If a dog's got a question mark over their head, they just don't want to take a chance," she said. "That's one of the hard things."Moore said she actually encourages people to consider mutts, which she said are often smarter and healthier dogs. "I find myself reassuring people a lot," she said.At Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton, Coleman said her adoption numbers are fortunately "pretty up – greyhounds especially are going out really fast."While Sammi is still waiting for a home, Coleman said she’s been lucky that her adopters are usually willing to take home "sort of not your average dog.""There’s a lot of good karma in taking on a dog who has been in difficult circumstances," she said.Kathy Lundgren of Franklin adopted her own "Sammie," a sweet red brindle greyhound from Greyhound Friends last year.Lundgren said she loves the breed, joking that the dogs, known for their speed, are nicknamed the "45 mph couch potato" because they do like to run sprints but are lazy, too.Lundgren now volunteers at the shelter and said it’s rewarding to see someone come in to adopt a dog."I feel like when you come to a shelter, you’re giving them a life," she said. "You’re giving them a home."Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dameden@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @damedenMW.

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